Tailcat is an open-source tool that uses Tailscale's WireGuard-based networking layer (magicsock) to create point-to-point encrypted connections between machines without requiring a Tailscale account or control plane. You share a short address out-of-band, and the tool handles NAT traversal and relay through DERP servers.

• No account, no root access, no routing table changes needed — it's purely a userspace library and CLI that works on Linux, macOS, Windows, and BSD with multiple installation methods
• Supports practical use cases: port forwarding, SSH servers (with GitHub key auth), file transfer, SOCKS proxies, exit nodes, and command execution over encrypted tunnels
• All connection metadata is exchanged outside the tool (you decide how), and traffic is encrypted end-to-end; free DERP relays are available by default, or you can run your own

Moxie Marlinspike, creator of Signal Messenger, is launching Confer, an open-source AI assistant designed to ensure user data remains private and unreadable by anyone except the account holders. Utilizing strong encryption and trusted execution environments, Confer aims to set a new standard for AI chatbots while maintaining user confidentiality and security.

• Moxie Marlinspike is launching Confer, an open-source AI assistant built so that not even server operators can access user conversations, using trusted execution environments and strong encryption.
• It's designed to avoid the key-management complexity typical of encrypted tools while still shielding data from platform operators, hackers, and law enforcement/subpoenas.
• The push comes amid real precedent for exposure, like the court order forcing OpenAI to preserve all ChatGPT user logs.
• Marlinspike is aiming to replicate Signal's model of simple, verifiable, privacy-first design in the AI chatbot space.